Friday, August 14, 2015

Five for Friday - Goodbye, Summer!

Summer is definitely over. This week has been about having one last summer adventure and then getting as much done as I can before I officially start the first workday on Monday. Here's my Five for Friday for this week. Thanks, as always, to Doodle Bugs Teaching for hosting.

On Saturday, I took a road trip down to Charleston, SC to meet up with some fellow Teacher-Bloggers. We had a wonderful lunch at Leaf Restaurant. We spent some time getting to know one another and the similarities/differences between our school districts. Just so you know, teaching is a tough gig no matter where you work. But we all do it because we love it.

After the meetup, I had a wonderful (but very hot) time, walking around Charleston. It's such a beautiful place. I loved walking through Battery Park, where I happened upon a wedding photography shoot, and along the waterfront, where I had a brief and pleasant conversation with a local fisherman. Here are a few pictures. Wasn't it a beautiful day?

Recent events felt a little more personal as I came across this sign. My heart goes out to the city and to the family and friends of the victims of the Charleston shooting.

I worked a bit on my newest project. This summer, I've been writing a lot of poems. While I'm planning a larger product that will take me quite a bit more time to finish, I decided to group the math-related poems together in one smaller product. I hope to have this one finished and in my store by this weekend. I'll offer it at a discounted price for the first 48 hours, so keep a watch on my Facebook page. Here's a sneak peak at the cover.

While I was moving my classroom this week, I ran across a center activity that my first grade students used to love. I may pull it out for some of my struggling second graders this year. I can't claim credit for the idea, but I did type up the directions. I glued the directions and the work mat onto a file folder and then laminated it. Then, I set it in a center with magnetic letters and vis-a-vis markers. Since my kids all had their own sight word baggies, it was naturally differentiated. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy! This is one of those ideas that I got from another teacher who got it from someone else who also got it from someone else, so I have no idea who deserves the credit. I just thought I'd pass it along. I don't have my original file, but I've duplicated it here if you'd like a copy.

So this is why my post is subtitled, "Goodbye, Summer!" I've spent two and a half days at school this week trying to get all of my stuff moved to a new classroom. And I've got a lot of stuff! In 18 years, you collect a few things - mostly books. And no, I don't want to purge some of it. I might need all of it. Really!

It's been a little difficult to move because the teacher who is moving out of my new room can't move yet. The portable classroom she is moving into just got cleared this afternoon. So I've had to pile most of my stuff in the middle of my new room. Here's a few pictures I took over the course of the week.

This is what my old classroom looked like when I started.

Here's what my new classroom looked like when I left today.

I'm exhausted all over again looking at the pictures. Maybe next week, I'll be able to share some pictures of my finished classroom. Hopefully, I'll get it ready in time for Open House on Thursday. I'll let you know.

Oh, I haven't forgotten the post on Anchor Charts that I promised you last week. It's coming soon! In the meantime, you may want to check out my Pinterest board. I've pinned lots of great anchor charts there.